Are You Healthy?

…that is….financially healthy?  CNNMoney.com has a pretty good, high-level questionnaire for everyone to fill-out to determine your personal financial health.  At first glance, when I saw this post by Flexo, I was skeptical.  I said to myself, “how can a short quiz determine an individual’s financial health?”  Well, upon further review, this short survey of your individual financial situation is actually a pretty decent snapshot.  One upgrade that I would like to see is for married couples to combine the questions for two individuals (or for a family).  I would recommend each reader of this website to check out the Financial Health Survey here and answer each of the questions to determine your financial health, as determined by CNN.  You are graded on an A to F basis, and there are seven primary questions that you need to answer.  The questions are related to: Retirement Savings, House Payment, Debt, Emergency Fund, Diversification, Company Stock, and Life Insurance.

When I took the survey I was graded an “A”.  I didn’t receive an A+ because apparently I didn’t have enough of my portfolio in stocks.  I wasn’t sure exactly what they were asking in the “Diversification” question, but as a young professional apparently I am graded higher if I have more than 90% of my portfolio in stocks.  Does this question include my emergency fund and other liquid-type assets?  Or is this simply asking about the diversification of my retirement accounts.  I am assuming it meant my retirement accounts, but unfortunately I included the Emergency Fund and all other cash on-hand in my mental calculation.  Anyways, check out the survey and see how CNN Money grades your financial health…you may be surprised, or it may be a rude awakening.

MF